Mouse Pad Buyer’s Guide – December 2016

I hope you will agree with me when I say:

A very important addition to your mouse is a good mousepad that is comfortable to use and precise

We have researched and found the best mouse pads currently for sale. We included the best gaming mouse pad 2016, the best fabric mouse pad, best hard mouse pad, best extended mouse pad and even an LED-lighted mousepad.

We have been investigating and trying out models from different gaming brands for inclusion in this shortlist of the finest mouse pad models, and here are the best we have found. These are the best mouse pad available right now for gaming, office, everyday use, casual and more. We hope you like it! The list has been updated as of December 2016.

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It can be sad to see a performance mouse matched with some mat from around the house or just run on a bare desktop. And yet, most of us are sure to equip our PC gaming stations with variable refresh rate monitors as well as our preferred gaming headset, keyboard, and mouse combo. What many gamers tend to skip in their budget for accessories is a proper mouse pad, which can be critical to their basic gameplay experience.

If you’re still playing on a ratty old mat, you would do well to upgrade it with a new model. A modern mouse no matter how sophisticated cannot reach its full playing potential without a dependable control surface to perform on. Well-designed and quality mouse pads are vital to aggressive PC gaming.

Best Fabric Mouse Pad

Pros

Huge surface

Superior texture for accuracy

Well-stitched border

Cons

Can slide noisily during strong mouse motion

After extensive research and testing, we have found the top mouse pad made by fabric materials to be the ROCCAT TAITO Control.

The least expensive and regular kind of mouse pad is the traditional fabric version. These are mainly constructed of rubberized materials using synthetic textiles interwoven into thick foam pads with soft cloth tops. Made with smooth and even surfaces, sturdy fabric mouse pads are the favorite of players who require pinpoint precision with minute frictional resistance. The majority of FPS veterans prefer models with huge surfaces, as these allow for wide sweeping motions with low-DPI mice.

Most fabric mouse pads may appear and feel similar. However, certain advantages such as anti-slip bottoms, stitched borders, and quality construction work to elevate the finest over the merely competent. For instance, Roccat’s Taito Control differs appreciably from most other fabric mouse pads due to its minimal looks, large yet reasonable sizing, and quality cloth and cushioning.

The stitching at each edge averts their unraveling and the blue borders highlight the mouse pad’s color scheme without too much fuss. In addition, its materials feature greater thickness and weight than that of most rivals. I rather like the minimal design of this mat, as too many accessory manufacturers like to embed their logo designs all over their mouse pads’ surfaces.

The mat was designed with a middling surface area to suit most players, unlike other brands that offer a range of cloth mouse pad sizes. The relatively spacious 15.7 x 12.6-inch area (400 x 320 mm) places it beyond most rivals’ medium models. However, its sizing is still smaller that of most large (extended) alternatives, making it a good choice for a broad variety of players looking for a very competent and robust cloth mouse pad, one of the best mouse pad currently available with fabric materials.

Certain other mouse pad models can also provide a similar combination of quickness and accuracy, but the Taito Control’s minor advantage is in its slightly roughened surface. It may not be the smoothest mouse pad around, but its nicely textured surface provides for great control accuracy without compromising quickness. With its discreet style and quality manufacture, the Taito Control overcomes the opposition to become our general pick as the best fabric mouse pad.

Best Hard Mouse Pad

Pros

Smooth surfaces

Solid rubberized bottom

Cons

Relatively pricey

Not as portable as cloth pads

We find the Logitech G440 mouse pad to be the best hard mouse pad currently out there in the market right now. It’s currently one of the best mouse pads for gaming right now.

Fabric mouse pads normally employ comparable kinds of textiles and assembly methods. Hard mouse pads, on the other hand, are constructed from a broad yet mixed range of materials, including plastic, silicone, and aluminum.

Many PC players need to perform subtle yet speedy mouse motions, and in terms of tactile quickness and resistance, there is nothing like hard mouse pads. That is why most FPS gamers prefer such stiff models, as their hard-surfaced smoothness enables them to glide readily around with less effort. It comes down to personal preferences in the end. But I like to deploy hard mouse pads when competing in MOBA- and RTS-type titles, where fast positioning and accurate aiming movements can make all the difference.

Models come in a great variety of forms and frictional properties. You won’t have a problem finding an ideal one that fits your style of play. That said, the simple design and ultra-fine surface of Logitech’s G440 mouse pad won me over. Logitech has apparently discovered the ideal balance of roughness versus smoothness, for I found myself effortlessly shifting and stopping between positions during aggressive gameplay on this mat.

From first appearances, the G440’s top may seem to an entirely smooth surface, but it’s really a polyethylene material with micro-texture structures that provide an ideal degree of friction. These properties allow for an ideal level of tactile response without the sliding noises that can be generated by strong mouse motions. It’s a great choice for gamers who value precise quickness above all.

Unlike many fabric mouse pads that have a huge logo and other graphic designs embedded all over their topside, hard mouse pads usually display only an essential graphic scheme. This is to avoid tracking issues with advanced mouse sensors. Logitech’s G440 follows this principle, although its minimalist scheme does present a tiny G emblem located at its lower corner on the right. Yes, as we mentioned, the Logitech G440 is the best mousepad right now with hard materials.

Under the mouse pad, the rubberized bottom material keeps the mat from skidding across the desk even with the roughest ripping moves. With its spacious 13.4 x 11 inch (340 x 279 mm) surface area, I had no trouble remaining ready and attentive throughout my battles, at a variety of DPI settings. If you are searching for a well-made and firm surface to zip through your screens with, you will find it in Logitech’s G440, our pick for the best hard mouse pad.

Best Extended Mouse Pad

Pros

Largest area

Ultra-smooth surface

Stitched borders

Cons

The big logo is a weird match to other name-brand accessories

High price for a fabric mat

The Corsair MM300 Extended mouse pad is definitely the best extended mouse pad out there. It’s also the best gaming mouse pad currently available on the market today.

Many gamers play shooters best using mice with low-DPI and decreased sensitivity configurations, on large mats. The amount of mouse travel that’s needed to set up accurate headshots in-game would require you to have an oversized or “extended” mouse pad. These oversized mouse pads are manufactured mainly in pliable fabric forms that are broadly sized to occupy most tables, allowing sufficient area for mice and keyboards. The Corsair MM300 is a great and all-round extended gaming mouse pad out there.

If you’re the type who likes this FPS gameplay style, you are likely putting your wrist through an intensive field exercise every time. You might think it indulgent to locate your keyboard on a mouse pad the breadth of your table front. These long mats do provide a highly consistent experience, though.

Putting your keyboard on the same level as your mouse means you won’t need to concern yourself about getting cramped, as there are oodles of space to accommodate your input devices. This can be particularly critical whenever you must hop your mouse to different positions in order to complete multiple moves, instead of just sweeping imprecise shifts that use up diminishing time. Corsair makes some really great mouse pads, as you can see.

At more than three feet in breadth, the Corsair MM300 Extended is one of the truly oversized mats of good quality. This oversized model is about the biggest in the market, it’s sized to hold the largest available keyboards and then some. It is from their range of premium fabric models, with features such as stitched borders to avert frayed edges, an anti-slip rubberized bottom, and is sturdily constructed to a thickness of 3 mm. If used with a compact keyboard such as a Tenkeyless type, the very broad surface may seem more like a floor than a pad for your input devices.

As with the majority of cloth mouse pads, the MM300 Extended is surfaced with a smoothly woven pattern that will let you glide your mouse along its top like a skater on powdery ice. Precision strikes were no chore to set up and execute in our FPS battle tests, as my mouse’s wide range of DPI settings and adjustments let me configure its sensitivity to match the huge area and the frictional properties of the “floor”. If you’re known to slam your mouse along the length of your table, and won’t compromise accuracy within an inch or two during turnarounds, you may find the Corsair MM300 Extended to be the best pick in oversized mouse pads.

Best LED-lighted Mouse Pad

Pros

RGB multi-LED illumination

Quality hard surface

Synchronizes with different Razer items

Cons

Relatively costly

If you want a fancy LED-lighted mouse pad that will impress your friends, you’ll want to go after the Razer Firefly Chroma – the best LED-lighted mouse pad. Razer’s Chroma-controlled Firefly is the initial contestant in what should become a competitive new category. RGB accessories have become the newest peripheral trend, and no one was surprised when a gamer brand like Razer thought to design and market a mouse pad with RGB lighting in their Chroma line. We definitely think this is one fo the top 10 gaming mouse pads out there, regardless of this feature.

The likable aspect of using Chromas is their responsive lighting modes. These enable you to reconfigure both mouse pad and mouse to glow every time buttons are pressed, making for brilliant light shows during fast-paced MOBA sessions. This should result in some cool spectacles at LAN venues. There are other such RGB-lighted mouse pads being launched into the market with features that seem comparable to the Razer’s. Many are anticipated to be available soon enough, but for now, this is it when it comes to blinking bling.

You might think that a lighted mouse pad adds nothing of substance to your gaming, except maybe for bragging rights. However, many have been discovering some of the Firefly’s interesting modes, for this mouse pad offers a bit more than a simplistic LED circus. The mouse pad has a firm surface with a nicely-textured top comparable to that of many hard Razer models. This allows users to perform moves with the same degree of accuracy and speed that one would expect of a premium gamers’ accessory.

Those willing to assemble a generous collection of Razer accessories may be motivated by the Firefly’s ability to synchronize with other Chroma devices and generate flashy displays of colored lighting. I know that this could well be distracting once you’re in-game. But then, this mouse pad is the only one that can instantly renovate your gaming station’s appearance in the dark, due to its variety of accent profiles.

The design does not offer any performance advantages over a standard hard mouse pad, and owners will have to deal with the hassle of looping through another USB cord for power. What it does offer is a singular design that can complement a good-looking RGB mouse and keyboard pair. It’s still a bit on the pricey side, but what else can bring in more blinkenlights to enliven your corner and showcase your mouse? It’s the only pick for a high-performing, lighted mouse pad and a very good one, too. Actually, we believe the Razer Firefly Chroma is the best mousepad with LED lighting right now.

Razer’s Firefly will be facing a serious contender in the form of the Corsair MM800 RGB Polaris mouse pad. I need to look at that one, as the upcoming mat incorporates a pass-through USB port, unlike the Firefly’s. Along with the new RGB-enhanced case fans from Corsair, this type of connected mat may be an attractive extra to a well-equipped PC.

How We Test Mouse Pad Types and Alternatives

Tests of mouse pad function don’t lend to strict A-B comparisons or intricate modeling and benchmarking, thus more practical ways are needed. Since these are not as complicated as other gamer hardware, I simply used these models exclusively in a long series of hardcore gaming sessions. Well, someone has to do the job.

Choosing between mouse pads for given titles can be a subjective process indeed. The first thing I did was to classify comparable mouse pads for follow-on examination. With each model in its appropriate playing environment, I then recorded its plusses and minuses accordingly. Extended fabric mouse pads are usually marketed as being good matches for low-DPI configurations and aggressive shooter titles, for example.

I alternated among mouse pads of similar class to figure out where they differ. I also used each model with at least one optical and one laser gaming mouse and noted my impressions during many periods of play with various games. Following that, I assessed in-game operation by testing speed and precision through the use of Aim Booster, a downloadable simulator for training. The best optical mouse pad (best mouse pad for optical mouse) has to be the Logitech G440 mouse pad. It’s simply so great and we think it is the best gaming mouse pad 2016.

This application is a good tool for examining mouse tracking consistency on a mouse pad, and many also use it in practice to enhance their response times and accuracies. I put every mouse pad through the simulator’s essential Speed level at 1080p many times over, noting variances in scoring levels. Once I had fully assessed the function of every mouse pad, I then weighed any extra aspects before selecting a favorite.

Although I put a lot of weight in actual performance results, I also put much thought into evaluating features and qualities including weight, size, sturdiness, and stability. Ultimately, I always advise a player to choose the kind of mouse pad that is most appropriate for his manner of play, before he decides on a particular type. A few of the titles I employ to test mouse pads include DOTA 2, League of Legends, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Rivals

In comparisons of rival mouse pad versions from the prominent brands, it isn’t easy to choose according to just functionality. The majority of gamer brands in the marketplace employ materials and construction of comparable quality. Oftentimes, only a tiny difference in some secondary aspect would be all that elevates our top pick above the others. Therefore, a number of the other mouse pads may be superior choices for gamers whose preferences differ from mine, and I list these worthies here.

Steelseries QCK

This is among the most familiar fabric mouse pads around. With its simple scheme, it is a basic mouse pad that’s popular due to its low cost. Although many features found in other fabric mouse pads are lacking in this model, the quality of its construction and smooth performance makes the QCK worthy of consideration by players on a budget.

Corsair MM600

One format I did not test here the is a double-sided type of mat. These are firm mouse pads featuring dual surfaces that vary in texture, enabling you to switch between either side as desired. Following tests of four different versions, I discovered that there is not much variance in tracking performance between surfaces for most play styles. As far as I could tell, the Corsair MM600 seemed to have an advantage in its ultra-slick speed surface.

Corsair MM200, Roccat Kanga

Both big brands provide less expensive models of their fabric mouse pads, featuring skinnier surfaces and fewer features and decorations. However, the differences in prices can be rather tiny. I don’t see how I can advise a gamer to buy the low-end versions when most premium models are not much more expensive.

Razer Sphex

Razer’s Sphex is a singularly appealing mouse pad that turns a zone of your table into a firm mouse pad. Instead of a conventional foam core with a plastic overlay and rubberized bottom, this comes as a nicely-textured thin film that sticks and flattens on the surface of tables with adhesives. It offers a more economical method of duplicating the surface feel of hard mouse pads.

Razer Goliathus

Razer’s unified line of fabric mouse pads offers a range of differing sizes much like that marketed by rival Steelseries. This model offers high-quality construction as well as elements comparable to that of our champion fabric mouse pads. However, the Goliathus’s lively green scheme seems like a regression from company’s move towards slick schemes in its newest mat accessories and redesigned logo. It didn’t make it to be one of the best mouse pads 2016.

Reflex Labs Gaming Mouse Pad Large

Of all the no-name generic brands selling stuff on Amazon, Reflex Lab is one of a very few that sells fabric mouse pads with a performance that can rival that of many premium makes. Their huge extended gamers’ mouse pads are quite aggressively priced. That said, there was an odorous chemical smell present in the box upon opening that thankfully disappeared after some time. It also took a while to unravel and even out flatly on my desktop after I had first placed, so how their packaging affects their delivered product is something worth checking out first.

Upcoming models

I tried to test all major new types, but there’s a legion of brands that source mouse pads from around the globe. It is not possible to search and try out every available model, the market is big enough to bring surprise on occasion to even the most knowledgeable gamers.

I am always searching for novel mouse pad models with elements that may pique the interest of PC players everywhere and will update this article as time and new advances permit. Among those I will be examining next will be Corsair’s MM800 RGB as well as Steelseries’s DeX.